2015 Larkmead Firebelle

The Merlot-dominated cuvee of the estate is the 2015 Firebelle and it checks in as 71% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot that spent 18 months in 65% new French oak. It offers a terrific bouquet of black cherries, leafy herbs, lavender, and dried violets, medium to full body, loads of minerality, and a fresh, focused, beautifully balanced style. It’s ideal for drinking over the coming 15 years. Located north of Saint Helena and pulling all from their estate vineyard located around the winery, owner Cam Baker and winemaker Dan Petroski have produced some true superstars in 2015. These are ripe, full-bodied, majestic, yet structured wines that are going to age beautifully. There’s been a distinct stylistic shift with the 2016s, which were harvested far in advance of when most were harvesting, and the wines are certainly still beautiful, yet more tannic, backward, and angular. They’ll be beautiful wines, but certainly in a different style than previous vintages.

A blend of 71% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Petit Verdot, the 2015 Firebelle Proprietary Red opens with a deep garnet-purple color and baked plums, peppered salami and black forest cake-scented nose with dried herbs and tilled soil nuances. The medium to full-bodied palate is firm, chewy and muscular with earthy suggestions, just lacking a little expressiveness and depth at this stage.

The 2015 Firebelle is surprisingly tannic for a Merlot-based wine. Then again, the move from 3% Petit Verdot in the 2014 to 8% in the 2015, co-fermented with the Merlot, gives the wine much of its darkness and powerful feel. Dense and muscular to the core, the 2015 gives the impression it will be slow to mature.